Networks of Exchange (1200-1450)

Networks of Exchange (1200-1450)

Overview

  • Time period: 1200-1450
  • Focus: How states and empires were connected through networks of exchange.
  • These networks are not just "trading routes" but encompass the exchange of religion, languages, and technology.
  • Networks facilitated economic interaction, cultural diffusion, and transfers.
  • Three major networks:
    • Silk Roads
    • Indian Ocean Network
    • Trans-Saharan Trail

General Developments Among Major Networks

  • Geographic Range Expansion: All three networks existed before, but their geographic scale increased between 1200-1450, leading to further connections among states.
  • Expansion Due to Innovations:
    • Commercial practices.
    • Technological innovations.
  • Wealth and Power: Increased connectivity led to the growth of wealthy and powerful states.
  • Rise and Fall: Interconnectivity caused the rise of powerful states and cities, while also causing the collapse of others.

Silk Road

  • Stretched across Eurasia.
  • Traded mainly luxury goods (e.g., Chinese silk and porcelain).
  • Due to the expense and difficulty of travel, merchants specialized in high-value goods.
  • Expansion reflected growing demand for luxury items, increasing production by Chinese, Indian, and Persian artisans.
  • Peasants in the Yangtze River Delta shifted from food production to luxury goods production for trade.

Innovations Facilitating Expansion

  • Transportation Technologies:
    • Caravan serai: Inns and guesthouses along the Silk Roads, spaced about a day's journey apart, providing safety and facilitating cultural/technological transfers.
  • Commercial Practices:
    • Money economies: Use of paper money to facilitate exchange (developed in China).
    • Flying money system: Chinese system where merchants could deposit bills in one location and withdraw the same amount in another.
    • Credit: Introduction of new forms of credit (pioneered by the Chinese, spread to Europe with the introduction of banking houses).
    • Bill of exchange: A document presented to a banking house to receive money owed.

Rise of Trading Cities

  • Increase in trade led to the rise of powerful trading cities (e.g., Kashgar).
  • Kashgar: Located at the convergence of two major routes of the Silk Roads, with a river and lush valley, making it an attractive stop for merchants. Grew in power and wealth as trade expanded.

Indian Ocean Network

  • Existed for centuries before 1200, but its scope expanded significantly during this period.
  • Relied on understanding of monsoon winds, which blew predictably in one direction or another depending on the season.